The final Nader ballot news roundup has finally arrived, and without a moment to spare! Since I've kept procrastinating for some reason or another, this wrap up edition basically summarizes all of the October activity, some of which of course will be 'old news' by now. Anyway, here we go!
Note that frivolous lawsuits are still pending in Illinois and Hawai'i state courts, but that's no longer noted on the map since they won't make any difference to the ballot at this late date.
STATE-BY-STATE BALLOT STATUS |
Nader Off Ballot |
Arizona | California | Georgia | Hawaii! |
Idaho | Illinois! | Indiana | Massachusetts |
Missouri | North Carolina | Ohio | Oklahoma |
Oregon | Pennsylvania | Texas | Virginia |
Nader On Ballot |
Alabama | Alaska | Arkansas | Colorado |
Connecticut | Delaware | Dist. of Columbia | Florida |
Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana |
Maine | Maryland | Michigan | Mississippi |
Minnesota | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada |
New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York |
North Dakota | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota |
Tennessee | Utah | Vermont | Washington |
West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming | |
! frivolous Nader lawsuits pending |
Though his
duplicitous and
contemptible Nader Republican ballot campaign has left him
strapped for cash, more
widely reviled than ever, desperate for
media attention, and speaking to the
sound of crickets, St. Ralph just barely escaped the
much-deserved humiliation of failing to qualify for ballots totalling 269 electoral votes. Some people have
questioned the wisdom of challenging Ralphie's
criminal ballot campaigns due to his
collapsed support and resources, but let me point out that it's precisely that which sucked up his GOP money, keeping him off the airwaves, and exposed his
deceitful collusion with the
very worse rightwing elements, therefore
eviscerating his progressive support. In the final analysis, on top of his diminished but still alarming
spoiler factor, St. Ralph's amazingly miscreant shenanigans have merely amplified the likelihood that of
wrecking the election by severely disrupting the orderly ballot process in a number of key states, most notably
Ohio and
Pennsylvania (but also to a milder extent in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin).
Final Nader Maximum |
Number of States: 34 |
Electoral Votes: 278 |
Popular Vote: 1.46% |
The maximum popular vote percentage has been estimated by taking the surely remorseful 2.73% that voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 and reducing them by the number of votes received in states where he's thus far failed to qualify in 2004. The actual Nov 2 vote will almost surely be less.
So, without further ado, let's plunge right in to the state-by-state breakdown!
ARIZONA: For the record, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the long list of those who've wasted time rejecting St. Ralph's frivolous lawsuits. This appeal had been kept active merely to explore the constitutional issues raised, and either way would not have made a difference to the ballot at this late stage. (Status: OFF ballot)
ARKANSAS: In a dreadful setback to the integrity and legitimacy of the ballot process, the state Supreme Court restored St. Ralph as the candidate of his 'Populist' vanity party. The higher court action overruled a just disqualification of Nader's end-run circumventing the "clear and unambiguous" intent of the legislature. (Status: ON ballot)
GEORGIA: Now it's official. Lucky Peach State voters won't be skipping over Ralphie's name on their ballot since Nader Republicans didn't even bother trying to submit the 37,153 petition signatures that were required back in July. Already severely afflicted by turncoats and backstabbers (i.e., ZigZag Zell) at least they'll get spared the presence of St. Ralph. (Status: OFF ballot)
HAWAII: An assortment of dishonest Ralphnuts failed to qualify Nader for the Aloha State ballot when their petition drive fell 587 short of a 3,711 valid signature requirement. After considerable whining and moaning from said Ralphnuts, the Office of Elections agreed Oct 1 to re-examine the petition rejects before making a final determination. The Nader campaign, represented by failed Republican Senate candidate Jay Friedheim, observed the ongoing review and refused to waive the option of a frivolous lawsuit, which was promptly rejected by a federal court. As U.S. District Judge David Ezra noted, the Election Office guidelines are, to paraphrase, 'reasonable and ensure that only candidates who can show more than the modicum of support Ralphie may still have are able to get on the ballot.' In any case, the undeservedly charitable followup review merely cut Ralphie's shortfall from 587 to 373 signatures, and with election day imminent the circuit court appeal is of no practical consequence. (Status: OFF ballot)
IDAHO: Greeted by an unusual setback from a state with a heavy concentration of his Republican supporters, Ralphie won't appear on Idaho's ballot after collecting only 4,388 valid signatures, with a minimum 5,016 required. His inept campaign filed a frivolous lawsuit alleging that some mysterious, unspecified "clerical error" led to the disqualification of 897 invalidated signatures, which the judge promptly rejected for failure to provide any facts in the course of suing the wrong person. Undeterred by the inanity of their legal claims, Gem State Ralphnuts refiled their frivolous appeal, but in a rare burst of lucidity dropped the challenge only a few days later. (Status: OFF ballot)
ILLINOIS: On Sept 22 the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals duly rejected Nader's self-important filing, pointedly noting that Ralphie could've filed suit when he declared his spoiler run in February if he really thought the rules were unconstitutional, and that he was hardly worth throwing the election into turmoil at this late date. Undeterred by this charitable rebuke, yet the latest frivolous law suit has been filed in Cook County Court alleging that state workers examined his petitions while getting paid (gasp!), thereby supposedly invalidating his proper disqualification. (Status: OFF ballot)
MAINE: The state Supreme Court refused to join a valiant Democratic effort to require that Nader follow legal procedures, agreeing instead with a lower court opinion that St. Ralph need not comply with legal guidelines so long as he claims he sorta tried. If nothing else, the decision to appeal provoked quite the hissy fit from Ralphie, which I'd have to say made it all worthwhile. (Status: OFF ballot)
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Despite "undisputed" evidence of forged Nader nomination papers and false statements made by Nader signature collectors, the Granite State's Ballot Law Commission made a mockery of the ballot process .. requiring "an immense mountain of evidence" before disqualifying such an illegal petition drive. Ralphie can thank George Bush Sr's White House political director Dave Carney, owner of the ultra-conservative Norway Hill Associates consultant firm, for orchestrating his ballot effort in tandem with the shady Choices for America rightwing nonprofit, founded by GOP consultant Steve Wark. (Status: ON ballot)
NEW MEXICO: Nader's Republican lawyers (of course) secured yet another GOP victory by persuading the state Supreme Court to overturn a lower court decision that upheld ballot access guidelines in the Land of Enchantment. The unfortunate outcome may've been determined by the recusal of a majority of the high court jurists, but a separate federal court directive would've inflicted Ralphie onto the ballot either way. (Status: ON ballot)
NEW YORK: As a fairly pointless gesture, the clearly addled Perot-remnant Independence Party underscored its irrelevance by nominating St. Ralph, who'd already qualified his own Peace & Justice vanity party. This did have the practical effect of bumping Ralphie up into the third ballot line from the last place that he actually earned. (Status: ON ballot)
NORTH CAROLINA: A federal judge promptly denied a frivolous Nader lawsuit demanding ballot access, correctly noting that St. Ralph made minimal effort to secure qualification via legitimate means and then waited until the 11th hour before ineptly swooping in to hijack a case filed by some random malcontent not related to his campaign. Although a court last month struck down the Tar Heel State's ballot access rules, permitting Nader to scam himself an unmerited ballot line due to the interim absence of a new statute would increase printing costs and confuse absentee voters toward no worthy purpose. (Status: OFF ballot)
OHIO: The U.S. Supreme Court's perfunctory dismissal of Nader's meritless appeal finally slapped him out in this most battleground of battlegrounds. As if Ralphie hadn't already caused enough needless chaos in the Buckeye State election process, two frivolous lawsuits were filed in state and federal court attempting to reverse the disqualification of his intensely fraudulent petition drive. Despite "the clear, unmistakable, persuasive evidence of fraud" widely uncovered when examining his Nader Republican petitions, St. Ralph's failed Ohio Supreme Court appeal had demanded that counties statewide reexamine 8,009 duly invalidated signatures, claiming that some mysterious, unspecified "clerical errors" led to their rejection. The parallel federal lawsuit, claiming a nonexistent right to employ illegitimate, out-of-state circulators, was swiftly rejected by the U.S. District Court due to St. Ralph's "unclean hands" steeped in massive fraud, and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals duly upheld its lack of merit. Of the 6,464 signatures that remained after the county election boards reviewed the 14,473 initially submitted, an additional 2,756 were invalidated following testimony of systematic forgery and deception. This stunning 75% fraudulence rate left merely 3,708 verified signatures, well below the rather modest 5,000 minimum required, thereby justly prompting the Secretary of State's order duly removing St. Ralph from the ballot. (Status: OFF ballot)
OREGON: After miserable back-to-back convention failures, an amazingly fraudulent petition drive, a unanimously rejected frivolous lawsuit, and a Supreme Court slapdown, the Beaver State finally managed to stick a fork in St. Ralph. (Status: OFF ballot)
PENNSYLVANIA: The U.S. Supreme Court finally stuck a fork in St. Ralph's fraud-ridden disruption of the Keystone State's ballot process. Only a few days earlier, the PA Supreme Court upheld the Commonwealth Court rulings that rightly jettisoned Ralphie from the ballot. The state high court didn't deign to comment on Nader's frivolous appeal, unlike the lower court ruling that cogently summarized the true essence of St. Ralph, albeit in decidedly charitable terms:
I am compelled to emphasize that this signature gathering process was the most deceitful and fraudulent exercise ever perpetrated upon this Court. The conduct of the Candidates, through their representatives ... shocks the conscience of the Court.
The painstaking review of the massive fraud uncovered in St. Ralph's inept ballot campaign dragged on for weeks, as judges in 10 venues across the state conducted a line-by-line examination. For just an inkling of how fraud-ridden the Nader effort has been, one father and son signed the petitions 60 times between them and other names were paired with addresses that do not exist - unless they're in the middle of the Delaware River - and that's just the tip of the iceberg! The "scale, boldness, and transparency" of the fraud and criminal improprieties were without precedent in the court's history. As an amusing sidenote, the Commonwealth Court denied a pathetic Nader motion objecting to the 'burdensome' verification hearings, with a most apt declaration:
"In over 24 years of judicial service, this court has never encountered a pleading which has more misstated the facts and tortured the law ... Due to ecological concerns for the shortage of trees used in the production of paper, as well as the fiscal concerns for the incredible costs of this matter to the taxpayers of the commonwealth, I shall be exceptionally brief."
If only the voters could have been similarly spared Ralphie's egomaniacal (bordering on criminal) disruption of the fine Keystone State's ballot process. (Status: OFF ballot)
RHODE ISLAND: Finally ending the intense suspense, someone actually bothered to confirm St. Ralph's qualifying for the Little Rhody ballot, but they sure didn't waste much bandwidth for it. (Status: ON ballot)
VERMONT: The Green Mountain State will have five legitimate presidential candidates to choose from as well as Nader, after Ralphnuts submitted 1,278 petition signatures to qualify a ballot line. Earlier, the renegade Vermont Green Party decided by one vote to sever its relationship with the national Green organization, instead endorsing Ralphie who ingratefully declined their disloyal maneuver. (Status: ON ballot)
TEXAS: The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals finally put a merciful end to Ralphie's simpering attempts to scam his way on to the Lone Star ballot .. decent Texans already have more than enough adversity to cope with down there, especially in Crawford. (Status: OFF ballot)
WISCONSIN: Yet another Republican leaning court has determined that close enough is good enough when it comes to St. Ralph following the law. The terse ruling on Sept 30 deemed the Nader petition drive in substantial compliance along whatever sliding scale the court applied, and thereby reversed a lower court ruling that applied a strict interpretation such as Republicans ordinarily advocate whenever it doesn't suit their interests to advocate a looser standard. Naturally, the Republican Party of Wisconsin filed a brief supporting the 'fuzzy law' interpretation of their duplicitous proxy. (Status: ON ballot)